JPH01268870A - Vertical tray conveying-type sputtering device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To reduce the weight of a carrier and the dangers of dusting and to simplify the maintenance operation by providing a rack-and-pinion type driving mechanism for a tray carrier at the upper part of a vacuum chamber, and suspending a couple of trays back-to-back. CONSTITUTION:A tray assembly 70 is introduced into a load lock chamber 2, passed through a subload lock chamber 31, a buffer chamber 41, a baking chamber 50, a sputtering chamber 60, a buffer chamber 42, and a subunloading lock chamber 32, and sent out from an unloading lock chamber 22. All the chambers are evacuated by pumps 3-5, the assembly 70 is heated by heaters 8 and 9, and a film is deposited by a cathode 6. Two trays 72 of the assembly 70 contain substrates with the film forming surfaces reverse to each other and coupled, and the assembly is suspended from the tray carrier 74 supported by a supporting mechanism with a hook. The tray 72 is horizontally transferred along with the carrier 74 by the movement through the driving gear, idle gear, and tray carrier rack provided at the upper part of each chamber.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a sputtering apparatus for producing a thin film in a vacuum. In particular, the present invention relates to the configuration and structure of a large sputtering apparatus for processing large quantities of large-area flat substrates.

[Prior Art] As a conventional device of this type, a tray-type in-line device is known, which fabricates a thin film while transporting a tray on which a substrate is attached. Depending on the orientation of the tray during transport, it can be classified into horizontal tray transport type and vertical (vertical) tray transport type.
As the demand for larger substrate areas and higher productivity increases, large-scale equipment with a vertical tray transport system has come to be considered advantageous both in terms of overall equipment floor space and in terms of preventing damage caused by dust. . Conventionally, the vertical tray transport method is generally driven from the bottom of the chamber, and for example, the structure is shown in FIG. 5a (side sectional view) and FIG. The tray 70 is held almost vertically between the lower drive roller 74, the lower guide roller 79, and the upper guide roller 78, and the rotational motion introduced from the drive mechanism 75 is transmitted to the lower drive roller 74 via the bevel gear. The tray 70 was being transferred in the horizontal direction. This one-type lower drive roller with upper guide roller uses conveyance by friction between the tray and roller, so there are problems with the reliability and safety of the feed speed due to the wrap around, and there is a problem with debris falling from the upper roller. There was a risk that the paper would fall along the surface of the tray 700. In addition, cleaning and maintenance work when dirt got into the lower drive section was cumbersome.

Furthermore, the sputtered film may naturally peel off and get mixed into the lower drive section, and in that case there is a great danger that it will be crushed and become a cause of secondary dust generation.

Another known vertical tray transport method is one in which a self-supporting tray carrier is transported horizontally by a rack and pinion drive mechanism provided at the bottom of the chamber. In this case, there is no roller like in the previous example, so the reliability and safety of the karamawari feeding are improved, and since it is self-supporting and does not require an upper guide roller, the upper friction The danger of dust being generated and falling along the tray surface is also eliminated.

However, in order to move a tray with a particularly large area stably so that its surface does not shake significantly during transport, it is necessary to increase the weight of the carrier and provide a guide at the bottom to prevent misalignment. A complex drive mechanism is required. In addition, because the drive mechanism of this lower part is complicated, cleaning and maintenance work is not only troublesome, but also the sputtered peeling film that falls from above by gravity enters the lower rack and pinion part and is crushed.
The danger of secondary waste generation remains unresolved.

[Object of the Invention] An object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned problems and to provide a structure of a sputtering apparatus using a fir tray transport method for large-area substrates, which has less runout on the running surface, is stable, and has high reliability.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In the present invention, a pair of vertical trays are vertically suspended from a tray carrier through hooks in a manner that the film-forming substrate surfaces are opposite to each other and are placed back to back. It is supported by a support mechanism and suspended from the upper wall of the vacuum chamber, and the tray is horizontally transferred together with the tray carrier by movement through three gears: a drive gear, an idle gear, and a tray carrier rack provided at the top of each vacuum chamber. The device has a configuration that transports the

[Because the acting force of gravity tends to keep the tray in a nearly vertical position at all times, a large area, thin tray and a simple, small-sized drive mechanism are achieved, increasing the reliability of the transport system. In addition, by using the upper drive mechanism to properly position the pair of trays and providing a support mechanism cover, even if dirt is generated in the upper drive, it will fall along the back side of the tray and the surface of the tray will be removed. (along the road) to prevent it from falling. Furthermore, by adopting the upper drive mechanism of the present invention, only a very simple guide needs to be provided at the bottom of the tray, which not only eliminates the risk of pulverizing the sputtered peeled film that has fallen to the bottom of the chamber due to gravity, but also eliminates the risk of pulverizing the sputtered peeled film that has fallen to the bottom of the chamber due to gravity. Cleaning and maintenance are very easy.

[Example code] Next, the present invention will be explained in detail using figures.

FIG. 1 shows the configuration of a vertical tray conveyance type sputtering apparatus to which the present invention is applied. In the figure, the main body of the device consists of six gate valves 11. 12. 13. 14゜15.16 and eight vacuum unit chambers, namely load lock chamber 21, sub load lock chamber 31, buffer chamber (1) 41, baking chamber 50,
Sputter chamber 60, buffer chamber (2)
42, a sub-unload lock chamber 32, and an unload lock chamber 22.

The tray assembly 70 is inserted into the load lock chamber 21 from the atmosphere side in the direction shown by arrow A with the gate valve open.
After passing through each vacuum unit chamber in sequence, the substrate is heated and coated with a film, and then sent out from the unload lock chamber 22 to the atmosphere. A mechanical booster pump 3, an oil rotary pump 4, a cryopump 5, or the like is connected to each chamber via a valve 2 to perform exhaust. Tray assembly 7
The state in which the two trays 72 are suspended in a pair will be described in detail later with reference to FIGS. 2 and 3.

A set of two trays is a buffer chamber (1) 41
, baking chamber 50, sputtering chamber 60
When the substrate is in the tray, a heater 8 can be placed between the trays, and the substrate is heated from the back side at each position. Regarding its effect, please refer to Japanese Patent Application No. 61-289.
610, so it will be omitted here. When in the baking chamber 50, the tray can also be heated from its surface by the heater 9.

In the sputter chamber 60, two cathodes 6 are provided on one side, and a sputtered film is deposited from each surface of the redoray assembly 70. If the time interval (takt time) between one set of tray assemblies being processed and output from the device is short, about 3 minutes, the tray assembly 70 is placed in the load lock chamber 21 and the valve 11 is closed as shown in this figure. Then, the tray assembly 70 is transferred to the sub-load lock chamber 31, evacuated to a high vacuum or ultra-high vacuum, and further transferred to the buffer chamber (1). However, if the takt time is long enough and there is plenty of exhaust time, there is no need to provide separate load lock chambers and sub load lock chambers as shown in this figure, and it is possible to use one common chamber. Similarly, if the takt time is long enough, the unload lock chamber and the sub load lock chamber can be used in common. When substrate heating is not required, sub load lock chamber 31 and sputter chamber 6 are used.
0 heater 8 is not required, and baking chamber 50 is also not required. Incidentally, when operating this sputtering apparatus, it is necessary to supply gas, cooling water, and electricity, but these are not shown. The buffer chamber (1) 4.1 transfers the tray assembly 70 from the sub-load lock chamber 31 to the baking chamber 50 and the sputtering chamber.
-60, it is necessary as a space for fast forwarding so that adjacent tray assemblies 70 can be brought closer together so that they can move continuously with almost no gaps. Similarly, the buffer chamber (2
) 42 is necessary for rapidly transporting the tray assembly on which the sputtering film application process has been completed to the sub-unload lock chamber 32.

FIG. 2 shows a front sectional view (vertical sectional structure) of the load lock chamber 21. Also, Figure 3 shows the arrow I-I in Figure 2.
A vertical cross-sectional view is shown. FIG. 4 shows the appearance of the tray carrier 74 in FIGS. 2 and 3. FIG. Chamber upper wall 2
11 includes a drive source 75 for transporting the tray assembly 70;
An idler 76 and a support mechanism 77 are attached. The lower chamber wall 212 is provided with an exhaust port 22 and has a lower tray guide assembly 78 attached thereto.

The tray assembly 70 is suspended from a tray carrier 74, and the tray carrier as a whole is supported by a support mechanism and transported in a horizontal direction as shown by arrow A. The drive source 75 consists of a rotation introduction device 752 equipped with a motor 751 and is connected to the chamber through a flange 753 in an airtight manner. A drive gear 756 is attached to the tip of the shaft 754 on the vacuum side.
is fixed and rotated by the drive of a motor 751. Idler 76 is attached to chamber upper wall 211 via bracket 761 and can rotate gear 763 about shaft 762 . On the other hand, the pair of support mechanisms 77 are attached to the chamber upper wall 211 by brackets 771, and consist of a plurality of rollers 774 built into the support plate 772 via bearings 773. A tray carrier 74 is mounted so as to be in contact with a plurality of rollers 774. A rack 742 is cut out on one side of the slider 741 of the tray carrier 74, and when the tray carrier is placed on the rollers, the rack 742 is cut out.
and the gear 763 of the idler 76 mesh with each other. A suspension plate 744 and a hook 745 are attached to the lower side of the slider 741, and two substrate holders 72 can be suspended from one slider via the hooks 745. The substrate holder 72 uses a back plate 73 to accommodate a substrate 71 on which a thin film is to be formed.

Although there are various methods and structures for fixing the substrates and the substrate holder, their description will be omitted here as they are outside the scope of the present invention.

The position of the portion near the lower end of the substrate holder 72 is restricted by a guide assembly 78 so that the surfaces of the two substantially vertical substrates do not swing significantly. That is, two board holders 72
On the back side of the shaft 78 is a contact guide bearing 781.
11 is attached to the chamber bottom wall 212 via a bracket 7812 for rotation around the bottom wall 212 of the chamber. On the other hand, a non-contact guide bearing 782 is attached to the chamber bottom wall 212 via a bracket 7822 so as to rotate around the shaft 7821. When the tray assembly 70 is transported, the lower back surface of the substrate holder 72 moves by pushing the contact guide bearing 781 due to the force of gravity, but normally does not touch the non-contact guide bearing '782. The non-contact guide bearing 78 has the purpose of preventing the risk of the substrate holder being shaken or deformed due to an unexpected accident and colliding with an obstructive object during the transfer.

A pair of covers 775 are provided at the bottom of the support mechanism 77 so as to sandwich the tray carrier therebetween.

When the tray assembly attached to the tray carrier 74 is transported by the drive source 75 via the idler 76,
There is a possibility that dust will be generated due to the friction between the gear and the rack and the rotating contact between the roller and the bottom surface of the slider. However, even if dust were to be generated, the cover 775 would prevent the dust from scattering downward, and even if it were to fall, it would descend into the space between the backs of the two substrate holders 72 and follow the surface of the substrate 71. By preventing the drop from occurring, the risk of dust adhering to the surface of the substrate on which the film is formed is suppressed.

Furthermore, since the guide at the bottom of the substrate holder only rotates in contact with the back surface of the substrate holder and does not usually come into contact with the front surface, the risk of dust generation here is extremely low.

Although the transport of the tray assembly 70 in the load lock chamber has been described above with reference to FIGS. 2, 3, and 4, the transport in other chambers is exactly the same.

The support mechanism 77 cannot be connected between two adjacent chambers with a gate valve in between, so it is necessary to leave a certain gap between them. If the spacing is short enough, it will not interfere with transporting the tray assembly between two support mechanisms that are not completely consecutive.

[Effects of the Invention] The present invention provides a sputtering apparatus that is highly reliable for processing large substrates using a vertical conveyance method, has less risk of dust generation, and is easy to maintain.

The substrate transport method according to the present invention is not limited to sputtering equipment, but is also effective as other types of equipment that form and process thin films in vacuum.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing an example of the configuration of a vertical in-line sputtering apparatus to which the present invention is applied. Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view of the load lock chamber in Figure 1;
The figure is a vertical sectional view taken along arrow II in Figure 1, Figure 4 is an external view of the tray carrier, Figures 5a and 5 are conventional vertical tray conveyance systems using lower drive rollers and upper guide rollers. FIG. 2 is a side sectional view and a front sectional view. 11.12,13. 14, 15, 16... Gate valve, 21... Load lock chamber, 31.
...Subload lock chamber, 41.42...
Buffer chamber, 50... Baking chamber, 60... Sputtering chamber, 32...
Sub-unload lock chamber, 22... Unload lock chamber, 2... Valve, 3...
Mechanical booster pump, 4... Oil rotary pump, 5... Cryopump, 6... Cathode,
8,9...Heater, 70...Tray assembly, 7
4...Tray carrier, 75...Drive source, 76.
...Idler, 77...Support mechanism, 78.
・Guide assembly. Patent applicant: Nichiden Anelva Co., Ltd. Agent: Kenji Murakami f.

Claims (1)

[Claims] [1] Load lock, sub load lock, buffer,
A unit that performs bake, sputter, sub-unload lock, unload lock, etc. Vacuum chambers and gate valves are connected in series, a vacuum pump to evacuate each chamber, and a sputter power supply and device that supplies power to the sputter electrode. In a sputtering device that consists of water cooling piping, gas piping, and electrical wiring that supply essential power such as cooling water, gas, and electricity to the entire device, a pair of trays that take a vertical position for accommodating the substrate are placed so that the film forming surface of the substrate is The unit is placed in a suspended position on a tray carrier supported by a support mechanism using hooks back to back, and the unit is connected to the tray carrier through three gears: a drive gear, an idle gear, and a tray carrier rack provided at the top of each vacuum chamber. A sputtering device that creates a thin film while horizontally transporting a tray together with a tray carrier through movement.